Patrice Evra claims Robin van Persie has evoked memories of Ruud van
Nistelrooy at Manchester United by extending his breathtaking start to his
Old Trafford career with his tenth goal in 13 appearances during the 2-1
victory against Arsenal.

Top man: Robin van Persie has been hailed by team-mate Patrice Evra who sees why United were so keen to buy himPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

Van Nistelrooy, who scored 150 goals in 219 games for Manchester United between 2001 and 2006, has already been outstripped by Van Persie, having only registered eight goals in his first 13 games for the club in the 2001-02 campaign.

But after playing alongside Van Nistelrooy for six months following his arrival from Monaco in January 2006, Evra believes that Van Persie shares the same attributes of his fellow Dutchman.

“Robin seems like he has played for us for many years and he reminds me of Van Nistelrooy.” Evra said. “I played with Ruud when I signed for United and I remember what a great player he was.

“The class and the touch they both have when you pass the ball to them is the same, but Robin is just a top-class player and you can see why United wanted him and why the gaffer worked so hard to get him.

“He has started so well and I just he can keep going because, at United, you have to do that in every game and we have to do everything we can to make sure that he feels good.

“Everyone knows what a great player Robin was at Arsenal, but it is never easy to play against your old team-mates.

“After two minutes, though, he scored a goal. It was a great start for him and people can now see that Robin is strong mentally.”

United’s victory against Arsenal, combined with Chelsea’s draw at Swansea, lifted Sir Alex Ferguson’s team to the top of the Premier League and, after losing the title to Manchester City last season, Evra admits United must continue to take points off their title rivals.

“It’s really important for us.” Evra said. “We won against Newcastle this season after losing there 3-0 last year and we have also beaten Chelsea after drawing last season’s game at Stamford Bridge.

“We have won at Anfield and now we have beaten Arsenal, so it is really important for our confidence.

“After losing against Tottenham at home, we were really disappointed and we knew we had to show the fight to win the league.

“But when you win against the big teams, you show to everyone that you mean business.”